


your rule of thumb makes me worrisome

by godmarked



Series: PROMPTOBER 2020 [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Isekai, MMORPGs, Politics, Sword Art Online-esque Setting, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:54:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26747665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/godmarked/pseuds/godmarked
Summary: After the barrier comes down, Lovelace and Rhyme meet a group of Incendi soliders.
Relationships: Implied Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character & Original Female Character, Original Male Character & Original Male Character
Series: PROMPTOBER 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945378
Kudos: 5





	your rule of thumb makes me worrisome

**Author's Note:**

> **prompt #02: sorry, looks like you're involved.**   
>  _prompt from 'howl's moving castle' / title from no doubt's 'just a girl'_

The death of the Drider Queen comes with two things. 

The first is a price: death, and there is no shortage of it. Evy- Lovelace, now, after eleven months inside this world -feels the loss of those who fell beside her in battle like wounds, open and raw and painful to even think about. Good people died to the traps in the Drider Queen’s cavern, died to the underlings that sprung from shadows to distract and poison them, died to the Drider Queen’s horrible fangs. The faces of those who fell in the battle haunt Lovelace when she closes her eyes at night, their faces twisted in various forms of agony.

The second thing that comes from the Drider Queen’s death, however, is freedom. The shimmering wall that previously bordered the Jinx territory still stands, but when Lovelace reaches her hand out to touch it, she meets no resistance. Merely the unfamiliar feeling of static dancing wherever her skin makes contact with the shimmering, translucent force. The only place they can’t go is towards the unnamed island-city that rests between all six of the different territories, still blocked off until the rest of the clans defeat their own bosses. 

Those who have taken on the mantle of leading the Jinx have banned any official convoys from crossing the borders into Incendi and Cerauno territories. There’s no real way to punish anyone who leaves, but they’ve been living in isolation for the last eleven months; and fear is a powerful ruler. Lovelace is assigned back to border patrol- grinding low-level trash mobs. They used to talk to the Incendi patrols the best they could, holding up signs once they figured out audio couldn’t pass through the barrier. Inara and Copper, the two de facto leaders of the Jinx, made sure to tell her in no small terms that they were not to initiate  _ any  _ sort of contact. If they saw Incendi patrol, they were to turn around and make their way back to Nightfall Basin, immediately. 

“So,” her patrol partner says as they approach the shimmering, translucent barrier. “We’re not really going along with the exclusionist bullshit Inara and Copper are spouting, right?” 

Lovelace stills, watching the boy out of the corner of her eye. Rhyme is a good kid, barely seventeen, and he reminds her of how her step-brother Will was at that age. All impulse and attempts at chivalry, a sense of justice that he doesn’t quite know how to use. “Right,” she says eventually. “But Rhyme, I need you to understand- you have to follow my orders,” she says. “I know that it’s bullshit, but I can’t promise you the Incendi won’t attack us first chance they get.” She raises a hand at his protest, channeling her best mom look at him. “So you listen, and we play it safe, okay?” 

“Okay,” he grumbles, fidgeting in his armor. “Can we go, already?” 

Lovelace sighs, and does her best to remember being seventeen and impertent. “We can go,” she allows, and they do. Rhyme is a good partner when it comes to border patrol, has the right mix of fearlessness (recklessness) and positivity that makes him a reliable tank. He can take a dozen hits and come out on the other side beaming like it’s his favorite activity, and projects a certain sort of confidence that’s been rare, for the last eleven months. It’s reassuring, and Lovelace considers herself lucky to have built up trust with him as a patrol partner and a member of her team during clearing raids. 

It’s that trust that means Rhyme doesn’t scream when Lovelace tackles him. 

_ Incendi _ , she mouths at him, keeping her hand over his mouth. He pulls a face and licks a wet line across her hand, which Lovelace takes to mean  _ I thought we weren’t doing isolationist bullshit?  _

And they’re _ not _ , but that doesn’t mean Lovelace shouldn’t be  _ wary _ . They can actually hear the three Incendi patrolmen talking, which is a new development- Lovelace catches herself wondering if it’s the same patrol she’s seen through the barrier before now. If the deep, resonating voice she can hear now belongs to the tall, handsome Incendi warrior who used to grin at her and hold up signs. 

Rhyme licks her hand again. “Fucking gross,” Lovelace says, but she obligingly lets him up, wiping her now-damp palm on his shirt. “No giving up any tactic-related info,” she warns, because they’re already disobeying direct orders, and the last thing Lovelace needs is for one of her fuck-ups to end up in the Incendi attacking them. Rhyme nods at her, but it’s absentminded as he follows the noise towards- and eventually across -the Incendi-Jinx-border. Passing through the barrier feels like walking through a wall of pop-rocks, a strange crackle-pop fizz over her skin and armor that makes her shudder. She hopes once the Incendi beat their Boss of Doom the thing goes away entirely. 

“Hail and well met!” Rhyme calls, the fucking nerd. He’s making sure his hands are both visible, and Lovelace reluctantly does the same, even though she’s itching for her knives. 

“What in the fuck,” says the first Incendi that comes into view. Lovelace was right about the deep voice belonging to tall-blonde-handsome from across the barrier, and he’s staring at her like she’s some sort of impossible puzzle. His face passes through confusion and into realization, glancing back towards the barrier before he says “You beat it?” 

“We beat it,” Lovelace confirms, watching them warily. “My name is Lovelace, this is Rhyme.” This is complete and utter bullshit, but the three Incendi look dazzled enough by the concept of beating a boss that they don’t question it. 

“Man, I just lost some money,” one of them says. He’s shorter, with bright orange hair and an outfit that singles him out as a mage or healer. “I thought it would be the Hydroxi first, if anything.” 

Tall, blonde, and handsome leans over and thumps the redhead on the shoulder. “Shut up, Hicks,” he says, before turning back to them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in an official capacity, Lovelace, Rhyme. My name is Grayword, and this is Hicks and Vett.” Vett is dressed in armor that’s similar to Lovelace’s own, built for speed over strength, which means Grayword is automatically delegated to tanking for this group. It makes sense if he’s the leader and can call out tactics and be in the center of everything, Lovelace muses. 

“You’re much prettier without the barrier haze in the way,” Vett says, and Lovelace is going to pull a face until she realizes he’s not looking at her- he’s looking at Rhyme, who’s flushed and grinning like a damn fool. Grayword, on the other hand, is  _ absolutely _ looking at her, in a way that makes Lovelace feel sort of crazy. Eleven months without thinking about sex or dating or anything like that, and one boy is enough to make her feel like she wants to eat him alive. 

“It is nice to be able to actually speak to each other,” Rhyme replies, and it makes Lovelace remember just how much shit they’ll be in if Inara and Copper find out about this. 

“While Rhyme has a point, we aren’t exactly supposed to be involved with foot soldiers,” Lovelace cuts in. “We’re just scouts, and we’re technically breaking orders right now.” She sidesteps neatly when Rhyme tries to jab his elbow into her side and ignoring his look of betrayal. “I’m not sure how Incendi leadership has set itself up, but the Jinx leaders are worried about a potential…” she trails off. “Display of force, should any Jinx cross the border.” 

Rhyme elbows her again. “What the fuck happened to  _ no tactical info _ ?” he hisses, but Lovelace just raises a hand, and he falls silent.

“And yet, here you are,” Grayword says, and his expression now is less  _ smolder _ and more _ oh, shit, she’s dangerous.  _ “Disobeying orders to talk to little old us.” 

Lovelace bares her teeth in what some people wrongly assume is a smile. “Can we expect a display of force?” she asks, sweet like arsenic, and Grayword grins right back. That’s either a sign that he’s thinking exclusively with his dick or that he’s just as crazy as she’s started to feel, eleven months into being some sort of quasi-politician footsoldier in a world that, for all intents and purposes, is a video game. 

“Well,” Grayword says consideringly. “Would you consider a tyrannical madman who thinks all the other fictional factions that we’ve been forcibly separated from are out to get us?” Both Vett and Hicks stiffen, but don’t make any move to stop their leader, who is still grinning maniacally. “We’re on border patrol for being- Vett, what did he call me?” 

“Filthy fishfucking sympathizers,” Vett answers dutifully. 

Grayword shrugs. “My best friend picked Hydroxi,” he explains. “Always liked mermaids, the loon.” 

There’s a long stretch of silence while Lovelace processes that, broken by Rhyme bursting into fairly hysterical laughter. “Aw, man,” he wheezes. “We’re so fucked!” 

Grayword is still grinning at her like an absolute lunatic, and Lovelace is either in love or going to kill him before the day is up. “Sorry,” he says, not sounding very sorry at all. “It looks like you’re involved.” 

“Rhyme,” she says slowly, not taking her eyes off of Grayword. “How do you feel about being involved in a coup?” Rhyme stiffens at her side, and then relaxes in parts. She’s impossibly proud that he _ hasn’t _ reached for his weapon yet. He may be friendly and generally cool-tempered, but everyone has a limit, and she’s made some decisions he didn’t really get a say in where he should have. He’s seventeen, and he trusts her, but Lovelace wont force him.

The part of her that’s still Evy won’t let her. 

“If you want to leave, you leave now,” she says, turning and putting her hand on his shoulder. She’s not that much older than him, only a few years, but she feels twice his age right now. “Because he’s right- I’m involved. But you can leave, because I trust that if you do you’re not going to rat me out.” 

Rhyme tilts his head up and smiles at her, and for a moment all Lovelace- all  _ Evy _ can see is Will, bright-eyed and talking a mile a minute about his latest fixation. “And leave you to have all the fun on your own, boss?” he says. “Couldn’t be me.” 

And Lovelace’s knees almost give out with how relieved she is. But she straightens, steeling her gaze from soft-sibling fondness into the look that’s gotten her this far. “Then I suppose we’re looking at new allies,” she says, and this time her smile isn’t a half-feral warning. Her gaze slides from Grayword to Vett, and she tilts her head to the side. “I understand Grayword’s motivations for going against your leader, but do you mind explaining yours?” She looks at Hicks next. “You too, if you don’t mind.” 

Vett shrugs. “Not anything nearly as personal as Captain Gray,” he says, “I just don’t like bullies very much.” Another shrug. “The big boss- Fletcher, that’s his name -isn’t anything special. He’s just a big bully.” 

Her gaze turns back to Hicks, who is scowling. “I saw him gank a noob that got in his way,” he says shortly. “I don’t- I don’t know if I believe that you die for real if you get killed, but the poor kid couldn’t have been older than thirteen. I won’t follow someone who kills kids.” Hicks narrows his eyes, looking back at her. “Why are you so eager to help us?” 

“I have a brother, and a friend who joined,” she says quietly. “They- I don’t know what name my brother used, or what faction either of them joined.” Her hands tighten into fists. “Like hell I’m gonna let some idiot conspiracy theorist stop me from getting to them. Or,” she adds thoughtfully, “well-intentioned idiots who are rightfully scared of said conspiracy theorists.” 

“Well then,” Grayword says cheerfully. “Looks like we have a coup on our hands, comrades!” 

“Are we communists?” Vett asks. “I don’t think I’d make a very good communist, honestly. I like money too much.” 

Hicks claps Vett on the shoulder sympathetically. “I’ll make sure your death is swift when the proletariat rise up against the bourgeois,” he tells him. 

Lovelace is on the verge of saying something incredibly dry, sarcastic, and cutting when Rhyme leans in to whisper to her. “It’s okay, boss,” he says, holding his hand up for a fistbump. “You don’t have to lie to me. I know we’re starting a revolution so you can climb that man like a tree.” 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Lovelace says, and Grayword grins at her from across the way. “I hope our coup fails and we all get tortured to death,” she continues, and he just keeps grinning. 

“That’s no attitude to have, sweetheart,” he says, and Lovelace’s stomach swoops despite the part of her brain that’s yelling about misogyny and  _ she’ll show him sweetheart _ , whatever the fuck that means. “The fun’s barely started!” 

Lovelace is struck, suddenly, with the notion that this might be a very,  _ very _ bad idea.

Too little, too late, she supposes, and she bumps her fist into Rhyme’s with a sense of resignation to the act. A condemned woman approaching the gallows, as it were. 

_ “Yess _ ,” Rhyme hisses. “Let’s fuckin’ do it, boss.”

“Yeah,” Lovelace replies. “Let’s fucking do this.” 

**Author's Note:**

> promptober #2!! some ocs that i have been thinking about..... this setting / story was very inspired by MMORPGS as well as sword art online and log horizon (i am predictable). there'll probably be more stuff set in this verse, if not necassarily about lovelace and grayword and co, posted during this month!! 
> 
> thank you so much for reading!! hope you enjoyed
> 
> find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/zackwritesstuff) and [tumblr](https://crossroadboy.tumblr.com/)


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